My Brother's Table was created to provide free, nutritious food to the homeless in Lynn, those living in boarding houses and the large number of mentally ill individuals who were no longer in institutions. The need to form The Table was crystallized after a social worker looked out her office window and observed a group of men gathered around a fire in a cemetery trying to heat a can of beans they had just received from a food pantry. Simply put, they were hungry and had no place to go.

Today the problems of hunger and poverty continue to exist in the city of Lynn. Today there are more hungry families in need. There is a big rise in the number of working poor as well as continued plague of homelessness. Today 16.5 percent of Lynn 's population is considered below the poverty level with almost 23 percent coming from families with children under 18 years old. Almost 15 percent of Lynn 's residents over the age of 65 live below the poverty line.

Lynn 's per capita income is $17,482, one of the lowest in the state. While many poor, Massachusetts, cities have lost population, Lynn 's population and the number of those living with hunger here, has continued to grow from 81,000 in 1990 to 89,000 in 2000. That increase means there are more actual poor to feed in this city.

At My Brother's Table, we respect the privacy of our guests, however, we do conduct an occasional survey to analyze their needs. The following expects to shed light to the level of hunger and poverty in our community. The guests interviewed ranged from 17 to 72 were men and women and varied in races.

• 76 percent of guests come to dinner every night
• 84 percent come twice a week
• 52 percent use food stamps or food pantries
• 66 percent of our guests have no access to a kitchen where they live (rooming houses, cars)
• 46 percent eat 2 or fewer meals a day including the MBT meal
• 8 percent of our guests have no other of food than at MBT